Written By: Wendy Pintor
This was M.A.’s first goal in NWSL and although she did celebrate it individually and with her team, today’s loss felt a little void. It was a back-and-forth first half for both clubs at Audi Field on Saturday night.
Early in the 9th minute of the match, Angel City’s Vignola fell short of nailing a shot in the left side of the goal, which bounced off the side of the post, while Julie Ertz had an opportunity in the 13th minute to finish a header in the middle of the box from a Savannah McCaskill pass that just missed the upper 90 of the net.
The same was for Washington who then was able to finish one that seemed to be offside but then was declared a goal. Just 8 minutes later the Spirit used the momentum to score again in the 41’ minute as Paige Metayer launched the ball from the far right side of the field to Ashley Sanchez who was running in the box from the far right, allowing Sanchez to gain position on a header to make the score 0-2.
I saw an opening and took it,” added Vignola. “That was my goal for this game, to finally get that goal that I’ve been looking for. I saw the space and beamed it to the upper corner.”
It was a defensive battle all the way through the second half. In the 71’ minute, Haračić made another spectacular diving save after Rodman managed to dribble inside the box, almost scoring from a close-up shot on target. Angel City would then have a free-kick opportunity in the 85’, where Emslie shot the ball past the top of the goal post from right outside the middle of the box.
“We just needed to come back together. “Those points in games are where you lose a lot of focus. It was really important that we got back on the same track and work together as one unit.” And if I’m that light for the team, I wanna make sure everyone shines bright like I was today,” added Vignola,
Angel City fought hard, leading the second half in possession as well at 58.1%, but couldn’t find the equalizer to draw the game in stoppage time. The team remains hopeful and has not thrown the towel yet.
“If we’re looking at the data, it indicates a good performance from us,” stated Head Coach Freya Coombe. “We’re just lacking that final execution in both 18-yard boxes. We need to continue to drive on and push in those areas. We also do look forward to playing Alyssa Thompson and Sydney Leroux more together.“
Angel City will continue their road play on Saturday, June 17 at 1:00 pm PT against SoCal rival San Diego Wave FC at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego. The match will be broadcast on CBS.
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